Ex–Baltimore cop turned Special Ops shooter Joe Ledger is back in action.

In The Dragon Factory, Ledger and his team from the Department of Military Sciences square off against two separate groups of corrupt scientists. The beautiful but twisted Jakoby Twins are creating transgenic monsters and genetically enhanced mercenaries for sale to the highest bidder. Their father, who takes evil to an entirely new level, is using cutting-edge science to complete the Nazi master race program.

Joe must elude the NSA who are gunning for him, fight his way past rogue Spetsnaz teams, and stop these madmen before the Extinction Clock runs out. And when the bloodbath claims one of his own, Joe Ledger declares total war on those who would burn down the world in order to reshape it in their own dark image.

Quotes & Awards

“In Stoker-winner Maberry’s wild second Joe Ledger novel, Joe and his comrades from the Department of Military Sciences take on enough villains and their world-threatening plots to fill half a dozen ordinary thrillers.”

Publishers Weekly

“Expect this straight-ahead thriller to hook action-crazed readers and inspire them to both seek out the first Ledger book and eagerly anticipate the next installment.”

Booklist

“Ray Porter finds unique voices for all the crazy characters involved in this action-packed thriller…Porter’s effective pacing embroils the listener…Porter’s voice for Mr. Church is striking, and his perfect tonal qualities for Joe give a sense of humor to a basically damaged person. Listeners will find themselves entranced by Porter’s terrific narration.”

AudioFile

“Everything a good techno thriller should be—clever, imaginative, and above all thrilling.”

British Fantasy Society

Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award

Listener Opinions

Jo Thomas | 2/16/2014

" I didn't particularly enjoy it but the book grabbed me and I made it all the way through pretty quickly. "

Wayne | 2/15/2014

" Although it starts out a little slow, patience will be rewarded with the most densely packed stew of gunfire, explosions, hand to hand combat, transgenic monsters, mythological creatures, super and sub-humans, secret bases, world ending plots and freakin' Nazis. What else could one want in an action novel? A decent storyline and some truly humanized soldiers give this a dimension that most action novels can't emulate, making Jonathan Maberry a writer I plan to revisit. Highly recommended. "

David Claeys | 1/18/2014

" Excellent james bond type villains. "

Krista | 1/9/2014

" I liked this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat; but the foreshadowing gave a little too much away. Lots of side players that took away from the book at the beginning and made it hard to keep reading; but towards the end, you see all of those side players come into play. Patient Zero is, in my opinion, a better book and story. However, I am looking forward to the third book in the Ledger series. "

Robert Garcia | 1/1/2014

" My favorite of the series "

Kat Nove | 12/28/2013

" While I still really liked this book, I didn't like it as much as Patient Zero. But Joe Ledger still kicks ass and is one of my favorite all-time characters. "

Linda | 12/16/2013

" I love Joe Ledger! I read that this series has been opted for TV. It'll be hard to tame this down for TV, but we'll see. Jonathan Maberry is just a little more crazy than Stephen King and the possibilities he presents are a little creepy. "

" The science based horror fiction story line was great, made you think. Loved how the author incorporated Nazi war criminals and the scientific research that was done by those evil bastards. "

Dave | 6/23/2013

" This series is not to be taken seriously in any way shape or form. I had a blast reading this series... It isn't high literature, but it was really fun summer reading. "

Sheryl | 12/13/2012

" I like Joe Ledger and these books. They have a lot of action but the story is decent as well. "

Katie | 11/29/2012

" This one isn't about zombies but it's still cool. "

Jason | 10/12/2012

" Maberry has captured lighting in a bottle. A good book should move you and if you reach the last page of The Dragon Factory and feel nothing..then you are just as heartless as the evils Joe Ledger and the DMS face in the pages of this fantastic book. "

Kendar88 | 9/13/2012

" I was bored to tears. Get to the plot and provide some drama. Even the first book started out so slow - I almost gave up - but it eventually got better the further into the story. In this second book, I only got through 5 hours and gave up because nothing was happening. Just blah, blah, blah. "

Jodi | 4/23/2012

" Maberry doesn't let you down in this Joe Ledger sequel. I love the way he weaves history and science into his stories. I already have book 3 loaded on my nook! "

Jonathan | 11/12/2011

" Not as good as the first one. I became tired of the same ole' stuff. "

Suzy Ream Rutan | 10/8/2011

" This one was amazing! In fact as much as I loved the first in the series, I thought this one was even better. Tons of action! A bunch of truely evil villans! A great thriller! Highly recommend. "

Stephanie | 6/10/2011

" Wow, what a great book. Even more thrilling than the first buy with a lot more heart. After that ending though, I'm going to have to give the DMS a break before I pick up this series again. "

Whatategilbertgrape | 5/5/2011

" A fantastic follow up to Patient Zero. I cannot wait for the next installment!
"

Amy | 3/19/2011

" Perfect to read during time-outs during basketball games!
"

Melanie | 3/8/2011

" Same author as Patient Zero. Same genetic research and bleeding edge science being used to destroy the world. Same bullets flying and bones crunching.

Macho good fun, but leave your thinking cap at home.
"

Ellie | 3/6/2011

" This book had me on the edge from the start. the last 100 pages were the craziest. poor joe went through so much to save the world. All I can say is that I can't wait for the third one, but I have to read something a little more less stressful first lol.
"

Todd | 2/26/2011

" Didn't enjoy this as much as the first in this series. Just made me think of a bunch of Bond villains running around against the good guys. Just a bit too out there and wild for me.
"

Jamie | 2/13/2011

" Jonathan Maberry does it again!
"

Keith | 2/13/2011

" good follow up even better than the first.plenty of fast paced action brilliant
"

ExotiKali | 2/7/2011

" I was excited to read this Joe Ledger sequel because I loved PATIENT ZERO. After reading this book, I'm thinking I what I really liked was the combo of the Joe Ledger and zombies. Joe Ledger fighting evil humans was ... eh.
"

Don | 12/30/2010

" More potboiler action. Fun stuff.
"

C.E. | 11/29/2010

" Definitely scary. Good but I do wish the author would stick to one POV sometimes.
"

Other Titles by Jonathan Maberry:

About the Author

Jonathan Maberry is a New York Times bestselling author and five-time Bram Stoker Award-winner. He writes in multiple genres including suspense, thriller, horror, science fiction, fantasy, action, and steampunk for adults, teens, and middle grade. His works include the Joe Ledger thrillers, Rot & Ruin, Mars One, and Captain America, which is in development for a feature film. He writes comics for Marvel, Dark Horse, and IDW and is the editor of such high-profile anthologies as The X-Files, V-Wars, Out of Tune, Baker Street Irregular, Nights of the Living Dead, and Scary Out There.

About the Narrator

Ray Porter has garnered fourteen Earphones Awards, two Audie nominations, and a multitude of enthusiastic reviews for his sparkling narration of audiobooks. He has also appeared in numerous films and television shows, including Frasier, ER, Will & Grace, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and Almost Famous. He has most recently received Audible’s Narrator of the Year Award. He is a fifteen-year veteran of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

[ShoppingCartItemsAddedOnMerge] audiobook(s) were left in your cart from a previous visit, and saved to your account for your convenience. You may view or remove these audiobooks on the shopping cart page.